Mad Men “Shoot”

“Mad Men” is finally hitting its stride for me.  That last two or three episodes have been really engaging and this episode did something I wasn’t expecting, it made me feel bad for Betty who I normally find vain and catty.  In “Shoot” Don and Betty get a chance to move up in their careers when a rival advertising company offers Don a higher salary and they offer Betty a chance to return to her modeling career.  I really liked the character work in this episode, like I said I cared about Betty which doesn’t happen very often, and I especially liked the sub-plot where Peggy stands up to Joan.

The visual theme for this episode is the Draper’s neighbor’s birds.  The episode begins with Betty outside with the kids as the neighbor lets the birds out of their cage to let them fly around.  This scene seems extraneous as the story moves away forward, but comes back to symbolize the events of the episode in a heavy-handed but satisfying way.  Jim Hobart, representing the rival company, meets Don at a play and starts courting him to work for his company McCann Erikson.  While at the play he comments on Betty’s good looks and offers her a modeling job.  This opens the door for some good character work on Betty as she struggles deciding between her old life and her role as a housewife for Don.  She decides to give modeling a second go and works a couple of days for McCann Erikson for a Coca-Cola advertisement.  She obviously loves getting back into the business and making money for the family, but the plot gets complicated.

Throughout the episode Don is courted by Jim Hobart as Jim sends different gifts to Don’s office trying to seduce him into leaving Sterling-Cooper for his company.  Don doesn’t have a large role in this episode, but his role is interesting.  One of Jim Hobart’s gifts to Don is the pictures of Betty for Coca-Cola.  The message is clear; your wife’s job depends on your cooperation.  This level of dishonesty sends Don into Sterling’s office to accept a raise.  He decides to stay at Sterling-Cooper.

The visual symbolism comes back into the episode when Betty is quietly let go from her modeling job.  She’s crushed.  The next scene is of the neighbor releasing his birds again, but the Draper’s dog catches a low flying bird.  The neighbor threatens to shoot the dog if he comes into his yard again, scaring the kids.  Betty decides that being a housewife isn’t so bad.  I don’t believe she actually believes this, but I think she doesn’t want to face that rejection again so she is telling herself this excuse so she can be happy.  The last shot of the episode is her shooting BB’s at the neighbor’s flying birds, her rebellion against the system that rejected her.

I think Mad Men has finally drawn me in.